"I'm living proof that scholarships aren't for the supersmart or ultratalented, and that your current situation doesn't have to determine your final destination," writes Ellis, who lost her father to cancer at age seven.

After his death, her mother, a Venezuelan immigrant living in Indiana, took on low-paying jobs to make ends meet. Still, the family dipped below the poverty line, and after her first day of high school, Ellis' mother told her she would have to be financially independent after high school.

"You are not meant to live in poverty your whole life, and I know that if you work hard, you can go to a great college and start fresh," her mother told her. "The choices you make right now will impact you for the rest of your life."

1. Start planning to pursue scholarships as soon as you know you're going to college.

According to Ellis, it's never too early to start planning for college. Being aware of your responsibilities and requirements is already a step towards your scholarships. It is important to know which programs or organizations you need to join to receive certain scholarships.

Ellis became a US Presidential Scholar, which awards scholarships to students who not only scored well on their SAT or ACT exams, but who also have talent in visual, creative, or performing arts. They also have to participate in the National Young Arts program.

Start now: Research available scholarships and their requirements. Create a strategic plan to follow throughout your high school years that will keep you from missing out on the courses, leadership experiences, and volunteer opportunities that could help you stand out for major scholarships.

2. Get involved in extracurriculars and your community.

Scholarships aren't always for those with high GPA or high test scores. Sometimes they're for someone who is involved in their community through volunteer work, employment, sports, or taking on leadership roles.

"I had always thought of a scholarship winner as someone who was supersmart and got perfect grades," Ellis, who ranked 32 in a class of 182, writes. "As a student with only decent grades and average test scores, I had assumed that scholarships weren't for me." However, she writes, she soon realized she "could appeal to scholarship committees outside of academics and still have a chance of standing out. So I set out to find activities I could excel in."

Start now: Find opportunities in your community where you can volunteer your time. Great places to start are a local library, senior center, or hospital. You can also look into local sports teams or sports at your school. Interested in music? Join a school band or a choir.

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3. Apply for financial aid even if you don't think you qualify.

Many students don't usually apply for financial aid because they believe their family makes too much money to qualify for assistance, when in fact, families with more than $150,000 in annual income can quality for financial assistance, writes Ellis.

Even if you don't always get "free" money, you may still qualify for low-interest loans.

Start now: FAFSA, the Free Application for Student Aid, is the go-to for financial aid information and needs. It is provided by the US Department of Education to help prospective students get aid and loan assistant based on their needs. To get the full benefits of the aid, you must update your FAFSA at the beginning of every school year and file it by March.

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4. Don't rule out expensive private schools.

It can be cheaper for a student with more financial need to go to a private university than a public university.

Financial aid for a public university is usually limited to government grants and loans, while private universities are more lenient with their money and are able to offer more private grants, scholarships, and gift aid from donors, according to Ellis.

Some schools (and all Ivy League schools) have a no-loan financial-need policyto help low-income families pay for anything outside of your expected family contribution.

Ellis attended Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate degree, a private school that costs $43,620 for tuition alone.

Start now: If you qualify, see if the private university you want to attend to offers the no-loan financial-need policy, as well as any donor grants you can apply for. If you do get accepted, always remember to call back to see if you can get more aid. If you don't do anything, the office will assume you are satisfied with the amount you receive.

5. Become good friends with the financial aid officer.

A financial aid officer, who you can find in your university's financial aid office, manages scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. They can adjust your cost of attendance, which includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, and other expenses.

According to Ellis, financial aid officers can "act as both an advocate and a gatekeeper" meaning they can pull more strings for you if you need.

"For example, one of my scholarship programs offered to pay for a laptop if it was considered part of my school's official cost of attendance," she writes. "My university didn't typically include laptops in that calculation, but my financial aid officer modified my COA [cost of attendance] to include a laptop expense, and within a few weeks, my scholarship program had sent money for the computer."

Start now: Be prepared when asking your financial officer questions: Do research and always bring in the necessary documents. It would also be smart to check up with the financial office to see if more aid is available. After other students accept or decline school offers, the grants go back to the school to be reallocated — and they might be reallocated to you.

6. Cast your net far and wide.

There are scholarships for people with a certain skill-set, a certain height, a special hobby, and almost anything else you can think of.

There are also many scholarships for different backgrounds. For instance, Ellis was the recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholar award, available for only African Americans, American Indian-Alaska Natives, Asian & Pacific Islander Americans, or Hispanic Americans.

While Ellis recommends applying for many, varying types of scholarships, she says you should expend extra effort on securing the ones that seem like they were made for you.

"Reflect on who you are and what you want, determine your college goals, and then go after the scholarships that fit you best," she writes. "These 'best fits' are your strongest investments in your future — the ones on which you should spend most of your time and energy."

7. Look for smaller scholarships at home.

Sometimes, the place to look for a scholarship is in your community. Ellis suggests calling your local churches, civic organizations, and even businesses that may offer scholarships to local students to go to college.

Start now: Your guidance counselor should have information on local opportunities, but if not, pick up the phone and ask an organization directly if it offers scholarships. Ellis also suggests calling your local Rotary Foundation or the Elks National Foundation for grants and scholarships.